Five Precious Poems from the Book of Mormon

Some of the more unserious criticisms of The Book of Mormon attack its prose and style. For example, one nineteenth century author, known for his folksy wit, critiqued the book’s supposed “prosey,” “tedious,” glib, and simple language. This criticism is surprising, because, careful readers of the Book of Mormon quickly see that the book is a very complex work of literature; articulate, exciting, and extremely poetic. 

The words of the prophets in the Book of Mormon beautifully and poetically testify of the Savior Jesus Christ. The prophets in the Book of Mormon bear witness of Christ, weaving in themes of trust in the Atonement, repentance, and conversion. Many times, their words are expressed poignantly and evocatively through the use of poems which resonate with readers and invite the Holy Spirit.

While these poems aren’t written in sonnet form, or with the use of rhyme, their inspired chiastic structure shows a command of language that few writers can achieve, making their words all the more persuasive. Here are five of the most compelling chiastic poems found within the Book of Mormon.

Alma 36 – Alma’s testimony of his conversion to Jesus Christ

One of the most complex, yet beautiful, chiastic poems of the Book of Mormon deals with Alma the Younger’s conversion. Alma had been actively fighting against the ancient Church of Jesus Christ, when an angel of the Lord intervenes and calls him to repentance. Alma suffers the pains of his sins for 3 days, and then recounts the joy of his conversion to Jesus Christ, a joy which causes him to change his life and spend the rest of his days working to establish the Church of Jesus Christ and convert others. The chiasmus is highly complex, culminating in the central focus of the chiasmus; Christ’s power to Atone for Alma’s sins. Verses 16-19 show the central part of this chiasmus:

      O – 16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.

           P –  17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, 

               Q – I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

               Q’ – 18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

           P’ – 19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

      O’ – 20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! 21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy. 

Alma’s heartfelt testimony to his son Helaman about his conversion is made even more powerful by the poetic form in which he writes his words. Alma clearly gave a great deal of thought to his words and must have spent a long time crafting his poetic testimony, which has now helped millions of people develop a stronger testimony of Jesus Christ’s Atonement.

Mosiah 3:18-19 – King Benjamin’s testimony of conversion through Christ’s Atonement

King Benjamin’s entire speech to his people is arranged as a chiasmus, with verses 18 and 19 of chapter 3 as the central focus of King Benjami’s words. The main focus of his speech was to inspire his people to take make covenants with Christ, and to put off their carnal nature by relying on the atoning blood of the Savior of the world. 

A men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves

   B and become as little children,

      C and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

         D For the natural man

            E is an enemy to God,

               F and has been from the fall of Adam

               F’ and will be, forever and ever, 

            E’ unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit,

         D’ and putteth off the natural man

      C’ and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,

   B’ and becometh as a child, 

A’ submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

2 Nephi 25:24-27 – Nephi’s Testimony of Jesus Christ

These verses are some of the clearest evidences of the Book of Mormon’s main purpose: to serve as a testimony of Jesus Christ. Nephi clearly testifies that the purpose of the Book of Mormon is to draw men and women closer to the Savior of the world. Verse 26 a scripture worthy to be memorized, and the verses preceding and following verse 26 point the reader to the focus on the message that Nephi was emphasizing. 

“And we talk of Christ,

   ` we rejoice in Christ,

         we preach of Christ,

              we prophesy of Christ

              and we write according to our prophecies, 

         that our children may know

      to what source they may look 

for a remission of their sins.”

Interestingly, this chiasmus can be arranged in several ways, but the main focus of the scripture, no matter the arrangement is the saving power of Jesus Christ.  

Alma 29: 1-7 – Alma’s “O That I Were an Angel” poem 

Several Book of Mormon scholars have explained that Alma 29 is perhaps one of the most complex and structured chiasmus poems in the entire book, employing an A-B-C-C-C-B-A structure. Donald Parry explains that “every verse fits into a parallel structure, with two overarching chiasms in vv. 1–7 and 8–17, and additional chiasms in vv. 9, 9–10.” Not only is the poem verbally complex, but it is extremely inspirational, as it has been the basis for various poems and worships songs, including “O That I Were an Angel” by Wanda Palmer. Many people call these passages of scripture Alma’s Psalm. Many missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have found solace in the words of Alma. 

The central focus of this poem is that God will grants unto people “according to their desires.” If our desires are righteous, we will have salvation, if our desires are sinful, we will have destruction. We are free to choose our course, but not free to choose the consequences of our choices. Alma needed to be content with his choice to preach the gospel of repentance through Jesus Christ, even though some people who heard his message would not heed his words.

Alma 41:13-15- Alma’s Counsel to his son Corianton about Restoration 

In this poignant poem to a beloved sometimes-wayward son, who probably reminded Alma a lot of himself, Alma teaches Corianton about the true nature of restoration. There are consequences to sin, and none of us can be restored from a sinful nature to a state of happiness. If we want to be restored to a happy state, we need to do the things which will bring happiness. Alma uses the chiastic structure, as well as repetition, and word pairing to emphasize this profound doctrine. Just look how his literary devices work so effectively in verses 13 and 14: 

a good for that which is good;

   b righteous for that which is righteous;

      c just for that which is just;

         d merciful for that which is merciful.

         d’ Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren;

      c’ deal justly,

   b’ judge righteously,

a’ and do good continually;

These five poems are just a few examples of the poetic beauty evident in the Book of Mormon. Far from being “prosey,” the Book of Mormon is one of the most poetic books on earth. The poems in the book help to testify of the doctrine of Christ, that by Him and through His atonement, all mankind may be saved, by following his doctrine, obeying His laws, and participating in His ordinances. As readers ponder these poems, they’ll be inspired, uplifted, and drawn closer to a deeper understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.